


Bad Santa

by captainamergirl



Series: Crossover One Shots & Drabbles [7]
Category: General Hospital, One Life to Live
Genre: Christmas, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Drabble, F/M, Holidays, New Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 17:57:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21480514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Maxie has a new friend. [Hurt/Comfort]
Relationships: James Ford (One Life to Live)/Maxie Jones
Series: Crossover One Shots & Drabbles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713280
Kudos: 1





	Bad Santa

**Bad Santa**  
  
“So what’s your favorite holiday movie?” James asks as he walks into the living room, carrying a giant bowl of popcorn. “‘Bad Santa’, ‘Elf’, ‘The Santa Clause’? Or are you strictly an old-school kind of girl? ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’, ‘A Christmas Story’?”  
  
Maxie shifts on the sofa, clasping her tiny, suddenly shaking hands in her lap. “I love them all… except… except for ‘A Christmas Story’. I really do _not_ want to watch that one.”  
  
“Not a fan of Ralphie and his red radio flyer wagon?” James asks, almost hesitantly. He can see the storm of emotion swirling in the dewy depths of her blue eyes. She’s actually been acting strangely all evening. Very fidgety and anxious.  
  
“It’s not that,” Maxie says softly, her plump bottom lip trembling. “It’s just … My husband - Well, my _late_ husband … That was his favorite movie. Nathan and I watched it every year without fail. It was kind of our thing… He made the holidays so special for me. Truthfully, he made every - every moment we shared together feel … _perfect.”_  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know.” James sets down the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and grabs for the stack of DVDs sitting beside it. He picks up “A Christmas Story” and stuffs the disc under the puffy cushion of a chair. “There. It’s gone.”  
  
“No, it’s not,” Maxie says mournfully. “It’s not gone. Just like Nathan… He’s not gone. Not in my heart, he’s not, anyway.” She ducks her head, dabbing at a crystalline tear that rolls down her cheek. “I like you so much, James, I seriously do. In a lot of ways, you remind even me of Nathan - you’re good, and you’re solid, and you’re super handsome ….but ...”  
  
“I get it. You still love your husband.”  
  
“Yes. And I can never be sorry for that.”  
  
“I wouldn’t expect you to be. It seems like you two shared something pretty epic. I’d never want to take that away from you - not one single moment you two shared.”  
  
Maxie looks up at him. “You’re sweet… God, you’re too sweet. I should be jumping all over you right now. In the past, I wouldn’t have second-guessed doing just that … but Nathan made me want to be a better woman... I was so lucky to find him.”  
  
James smiles. “I’d like to think _he_ was pretty lucky too.”  
  
“Thank you for saying that.” Maxie unfurls her fingers. “If it’s okay… I’d still like to be friends, James. If that’s not enough for you; I totally understand, but -"  
  
He smiles as he picks up the bowl of popcorn and proffers it to her. “It’s enough… I mean, I can do friendship. I just want you to stick around.”  
  
Maxie shakes her head. “You have no idea what you’re signing up for. I am a mess on a good day.”  
  
“Don’t say that,” James said. “Look at you… Look at what you’ve survived … I don’t call that messy. I call that _strong.”_  
  
“I’m _trying_ to be strong.” Maxie sighs and wraps her arms around the popcorn bowl. “Anyway… How does ‘Bad Santa’ sound? I am definitely in the mood to laugh.”  
  
James nods in agreement. “‘Bad Santa’, it is.”


End file.
